A New View Of VistA

In a guest column, VistA sceptic Ewan Davis argues the US open source system might have something to offer the NHS – but not if it becomes an open source NPfIT.

There is much, widely publicised interest from NHS England in encouraging the development and implementation of open-source software in the NHS.

In general, this has been welcomed. However, there has been a fierce debate about whether that encouragement should extend to Anglicising the US Veterans Health Administration’s open source electronic patient record, VistA.

EHI editor Jon Hoeksma has argued that NHS England should look closer to home before it spends some of the £260m Technology Fund on a VistA pilot or VistA projects; and a lot of EHI readers have agreed with him.